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Architecture Firms

AI can generate a building design. It cannot tell a client what to build. That is your next offering.

Production work (drawings, renderings, code compliance) is automating fast. The question is what to sell when the drawings are not the differentiator. A full day with your senior team and you leave with 2–3 new offerings, specified and priced.

The pressure architecture firms are facing right now.

The AIA Architecture Billings Index has been below 50 in 34 of 38 months since October 2022, the longest sustained downturn since 2008. Small firm billings fell 50% between 2015 and 2023. Meanwhile, developers use tools like TestFit and Archistar to generate site plans and feasibility studies before calling an architect. Construction documents represent 40% of fees and are the most automatable phase. Swapp and Hypar are already compressing documentation timelines from months to weeks.

Read the frameworks

What firms like yours are designing in the Workshop.

Every engagement is different. Your team’s domain expertise shapes the output. These are the kinds of offerings architecture firms leave with, specified and priced. Your team or an implementation partner builds and tests them with named clients.

Pre-design strategy and programming service

Fixed-fee engagement before design begins. Define the problem, establish priorities, set the budget framework. Sold separately from design services.

AI-augmented feasibility analysis

Rapid site analysis and massing studies using AI tools. 48-hour turnaround. Premium pricing for speed and certainty.

Post-occupancy evaluation subscription

Ongoing building performance monitoring with AI-powered analysis. Recurring revenue from completed projects.